


Escaping Reality

by Yourheartstillworks



Category: Until Dawn
Genre: Multi, No nsfw so that I can keep the gender neutral term, SO, They/Them reader - Freeform, because it's until dawn, but that's not fair, here you go, it'll still be violent, it's a reader fic, most of the reader fics out there are female/male, no smut i mean, or if someone wants female/male, someone wants a male/male they can have it, they/them is so that if
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-08-08 06:15:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7746274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yourheartstillworks/pseuds/Yourheartstillworks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You and Josh dated for a while before. But, seeing as he was a year older, he was going to graduate anyway. You both decided that it was best to end things. After all, he was supposed to be going away to some prestigious college somewhere. <br/> Only a year and a half later- you are invited to the Washington's cabin on the mountain. You'll see all your old friends.. including Josh.<br/>They/Them reader.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The View

Holy _ shit.  _  This cabin was a whole lot bigger than you were expecting.  Who were you kidding? The Washingtons had their own fucking mountain- and man, the view was amazing! You could probably do without the freezing cold, though. Also without Chris throwing snowballs at you and Beth as you tried to get inside the cabin.

 

“Jesus. Grow up, Chris!” You yell, ducking as a snowball shoots past you and hits the front door. Beth chuckles as she uses her key to unlock the front door.

 

“Come on, Dorks. Everyone’s waiting.” She says, giving you both looks. You smile and stick your tongue out at Chris. 

 

As he approaches the door, you wait, bowing slightly. “Ladies first.” You chime.

He frowns, waiting for you to enter. You stay where you were, staring at him. As much as you hate the cold, for this, you would stand here all night if you had to.

 

He sighs and nods, putting his hands up in surrender and walking in. “Alright, alright. You got me.” You giggle, following.

 

Of course the two of you were the last to show up. Well- technically  _ you _ were the last one to show up. But being close to Chris means him always wanting to ‘big brother’ you. Which meant that- for whatever reason- he just  _ had  _ to go down to the cable car station to wait for you. You would’ve been happier if it had been just Beth.   
  


You stop as you step through the door. It’s even bigger on the inside. You don’t wait to start taking off your winter gear. The heater is on anyway. You hang your coat on the hook by the door and leave your bag underneath it. Until you knew which room you’re staying in, there’s no use lugging it around.

 

“Heyyy, party people!” A voice says and you smile upon hearing it. Jessica greets the three of you at the door. Her hair is shorter than the last time you saw her, done in two little pigtails. She’s wearing a seafoam colored shirt with a darker skirt to match it. Of course, her makeup looks great.  You’d learned a few things from her.

 

Your smile drops slightly when Emily follows behind. She looks exactly the same as always. She doesn’t even try to smile at you, which is fine. You aren’t really making an effort either. Beth walks up to you and grabs your hand.

 

“Josh has been non-stop lately about seeing you, (Y/N).” She says, pulling you with her out of the room. You give her a thankful look as she takes you. “Literally, I think he planned this get together just so he can see you.”

You blush slightly, looking away. “Makes sense. We haven’t talked much since he graduated.” It’s only been about a year and a half, but you still haven’t gotten to talk to him. You’re almost shaking now, finally being able to see him. You have no idea what he’s been up to. Or who he’s-- nevermind.

 

You and Josh dated for a while before. But, seeing as he was a year older, he was going to graduate anyway. You both decided that it was best to end things. After all, he was supposed to be going away to some prestigious college somewhere. He didn’t end up going. When Beth first told you he didn’t go, your first instinct was that he did it for you. But he never called. You texted him once, and the both of you carried a tiny conversation out. But it ended and you haven’t talked to him since.

 

Beth lets go of your hand and stops you, standing in front of you. “It’s going to be okay. I know you haven’t talked to him… but. He doesn’t ever stop going on about you. He misses you so so much. It’ll be good for you guys to see each other.”

 

You smile, giving her a hug. Beth has always been such a wonderful friend. She’s always been there for everyone. You separate and stand back.

 

“He’s in the kitchen.” She says, giving you a reassuring smile. You nod and take a deep breath, heading for the kitchen.

\--

 

If he’d been holding a glass, he would’ve dropped it. Luckily, Josh was empty handed when he saw you. 

There isn’t any sudden movements. For a second, you guys just stare at each other. Your mouth can’t seem to form any words. It’s all laid out in your head, but you can’t say it. How have you been? What’ve you been up to? I missed you.

 

“Josh-” You start and then his arms are around you and- _ fuck. _ You missed this. You missed it so much. You try so hard not to cry because you know. That chapter of your lives is over. Josh and you ended. It’s not going to happen again. It’s not like in movies, people who break up stay broken. 

“I’m sorry.” He says, letting you go. You want to pull him back. But you don’t. “I should’ve called. I’m so sorry.”

 

You’re surprised he’s not crying- you’re surprised  _ you’re _ not crying. “It’s fine, Josh. You were busy. We had our own lives.”

 

He frowns slightly, looking at the ground and then back up at you. “I’m so glad you came. I’ve only really hung out with Sam and Chris- I mean, I hung out with Ashley once but… We’re not that close.”

 

You smile, but can’t agree with him. You’ve hung out with everyone that’s on this vacation. Mike even kissed you once at a party. Of course that was for a dare and neither of you really thought it meant anything so you left it alone. You’ve known Jessica your whole life. You were neighbors as kids. You hadn’t met Sam or Chris until you met Beth, which led you to meet Hannah and Ashley. You don’t like to remember meeting Emily. She’s the main reason you and Jessica stopped hanging out a lot. 

 

Speaking of Hannah… you wonder where the heck she is. She wasn’t in the living room. Maybe she’s up in her room trying to pick the perfect outfit. The one Mike will like the most. You hate that she likes him. He’s kind of a douche. He’s also dating Emily. Of course, Hannah is so much prettier than Emily, nicer too. A lot nicer. 

 

“We were all gonna watch a movie. I didn’t want to start it until we had popcorn. I came in here to get some and…” He gestures to you. “This happened.”

 

“Oh.” You chuckle lightly, “Well. I could just go to the… um. Place you’re watching the movie?” You scratch the back of your head. You have no idea where to go. You’ve never been to this place before.

 

“I can lead you back once the popcorn's done. Once I find it.” At this point, Josh is already opening cabinets, moving stuff around. You mutter a small ‘okay’ as you watch him.

 

This is so awkward. You hate it so much. You desperately wish that you guys can go back to being friends again. You were such good friends before you started dating. You would rather be like that then… whatever is happening right now.

 

“Got it.” He pulls the box of popcorn out of a cabinet, shaking it with a huge victorious grin. You can’t help but smile along. His gaze lingers on you for a second and your face heats up. He turns towards the microwave, seemingly like nothing is wrong. But you saw that… what was that? You look at the floor, staring at it. 

 

You don’t realize that time is passing at all because the microwave beeps. You look up to see Josh staring at you. He looks a little worried, “Is everything alright?” He asks slowly. You’ve been staring at the floor for literally two minutes. Probably unblinking. You shake your head quickly.

 

“No no! Everything’s fine! I was just lost in thought.” You reassure him. Not a total lie. But he doesn’t need to know what you were thinking about. Certainly not his butt.

 

He pauses for a bit, and then shrugs and turns around, taking the popcorn out. You sigh quietly and glance away. He pours the popcorn into a bowl and turns back to you. “We’re all set.” He says and starts to walk. “Right this way, mi’lady.”

  
You gag, “Ew. Please don’t ever say that again.” You laugh as he makes a pouty face. You have to stop walking when you reach the-- theatre?! At home theatre! Holy shit. Everyone else is already here. Including Hannah and Sam, who’re sitting right next to each other. Beth sits by them, but she’s on her phone. Probably scrolling tumblr or instagram. You wait for Josh to pick a seat and then sit next to him. It can’t hurt, right?


	2. Figure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s too hard and it’s too much and Josh is every bit as amazing as you remember and it’s just too hard.

You were never really a horror fan in the first place, but at least you could draw a line when it came to movies Josh made you watch. For instance, you loved movies with demons or monsters in them. But  _ Saw?  _ You hardly counted it as  _ horror.  _ It could just be classified as  _ terrible acting  _ and  _ gore.  _ You  _ hated  _ it. 

 

Apparently so did most of the girls (plus Mike) because they made their dramatic exit as soon as the first scene popped up onto the big screen. You half considered following them. God knows you didn’t want to watch Saw. But once Josh saw the  _ backlash  _ to his choice in movies, he stopped it and just came back to sit with you. 

“I mean- I hadn’t expected them to  _ like  _ watching it, but-”   
  


“Don’t be stupid,” Sam chimes, and you nod in agreement. “You  _ knew.  _ That’s why you did it, you  _ ass. _ ”

 

He slaps a hand to his chest, giving her the best Natalie Portman eyebrows you’ve ever seen. “I can’t  _ believe  _ you would accuse me of such a thing.”

 

You snort, nearly choking on the popcorn in your mouth and slap him on the shoulder. You extract your hand back to your chest faster than lightning. Josh turns to look at you and you can tell that you’re both thinking the same thing.  _ Fuck.  _

 

It’s still kind of dark in the room, and you thank God that he can’t see the heat pooling in your cheeks. “Sorry…” You mutter, quiet enough to where Sam can’t hear but Josh can still catch it. He shoots you some sort of sympathetic look that only makes the ache in your chest grow. 

 

“I’m gonna get some water,” You say quickly, because the room seems to be closing in on you and Josh has somehow gotten closer. You don’t give them a chance to reply before you’re up and rushing to the door. You ignore Mike standing at the door and ignore whatever it is that’s coming out of his mouth. You ignore the offense on his face and continue on your path. You aren’t sure you even  _ want  _ water. You just want to get  _ out.  _ Get away from it. It’s too hard and it’s too much and Josh is every bit as amazing as you remember and it’s just  _ too hard.  _

 

You suck in a deep breath and lean up against the kitchen counter, thinking about how you should be anywhere but  _ where you said you’d be.  _ Because it would be easier for them to find you, for  _ Josh  _ to find you. For him to talk to you, smile at you, remind you why you want to crawl into a corner and die. Remind you why you  _ love him.  _

 

Running a hand through your hair, you look out the kitchen window. You watch the snow come down in heavy flakes and let it calm you down. You become so focused that you don’t notice the presence in the room. Whoever it is taps their fingers gently on the counter behind you, and as quiet as the sound is it still makes you jump out of your skin. You turn so fast you don’t have time to pray that it’s not Josh.

 

Sam. You take a shaky breath and turn back to the window. She comes around to stand directly beside you and doesn’t make any move to talk. It’s comforting in its own way because Sam  _ knows  _ you and she knows you don’t want to talk about what just happened. 

 

“They’ve got some board games,” She says after a few minutes. “It would be just us girls.”

 

The idea of not being around Josh pulls you in two directions. You  _ want  _ to spend time with him, you  _ love  _ spending time with him, but it also hurts and it’s also confusing and Sam is your friend and she’s offering a distraction from that pain- at least for a little while. You nod, once just to signify that you were listening.

 

“If you’re interested…” Sam pushes herself off of the counter and starts to leave, “We’ll be in Hannah’s room. All the way upstairs, pass by the clock, you’ll know it when you see it.”

 

You nod again, but don’t look at her. Something has caught your attention outside. It looks like a shape, a shadow, but the snow is too heavy to tell. It could just be a tree, you tell yourself, or a deer. You shut your eyes for a second and open them, turning around. Sam is gone and the emptiness she has left behind eats away at you. 

 

_ If you’re interested.  _ You sigh, take one last look at the snow outside and head for the stairs. Your legs hurt by the time you make it all the way up, but you’re glad when you see the light on in (what you assume is) Hannah’s room. You’re even happier when you see  _ no Emily.  _ No Jess, either, which you’ve become used to ever since her and Emily got chummy. 

 

Beth is sitting next to her sister, up against the bed. On the bed is the biggest collection of 90s toys that you’ve ever seen if your life. You wonder if most of them  _ work.  _ You imagine that the batteries are exploded by now. Sam comes from the opposite direction, you’ve just now taken notice to her outfit. She’s wearing an adorable sweater that somehow is too big for her but fits her body perfectly. Ashley walks behind her, smiling down at her phone.  _ Texting Chris, probably.  _

 

You wait until Sam is sitting down and take your place next to her. You sit between her and Beth. “So, what’re we doing?” You ask, looking over the old games curiously. 

 

“Bed bugs!” Hannah replies enthusiastically, holding up an old board game. She smiles widely and you can’t help but smile back. 

 

“Does it work?” Sam asks, arms crossed lazily over her chest. Hannah nods, as well as Beth. She unboxes it, almost spilling the colorful bugs on the floor. She flips a button and they start jumping around. She tosses a pair of colorful tweezers at you and Sam.

 

“Okay, go!” 

 

\--

 

An hour or so later, you make your way back downstairs. Josh is waiting at the foot of the stairs. You pause and consider going back up- but you make eye contact on accident and force your legs to take you the rest of the way.

 

His lips curve, just slightly, and he stands in front of you. They drop and he rubs the back of his neck. “I’m sorry about earlier.” 

 

_ Don’t be, _ you almost say. The words die in your throat. You look at your feet, back up to him, back to your feet. “It- It wasn’t your fault… _ I  _ should be the one apologizing.” 

 

He doesn’t say anything. You look up. He works his jaw for a second, as if trying to form the right sentence in his head.

 

“I still wanna hang out with you,” He finally says. 

 

You nod. “Me too,” 

 

“Then- let’s go hang out. We can do anything you wanna do.”

  
Sighing, you pause. “Got any beer?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the long wait. I wrote a few more chapters in December and then accidentally deleted them. Here is some advice: if you're writing something you should use Google Docs. It saves automatically. Anyway- Hopefully they'll get somewhere next chapter. Thanks for reading!


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